Secrets of the Mind
by batfan94
Summary: When Hailey is put in a coma by an unknown foe, David must travel into his friends mind to rescue her. Together they will face fears, hopes, dreams, and a secret that David's mind has kept locked away even from himself for all his life. Written with Haytar96 and featuring her OC Guardian (Hailey) and my OC Obsidian (David). WE DO NOT OWN IMAA!
1. Chapter 1

David sat in his own private workshop, his eyes closed and his breathing calm and collected. Deep within his subconscious, he saw a long hallway lined with doors each shut tight, with the exception of one, which had a strange glowing aura around the edges.

"There you are." He breathed, "All my life you kept me out. I don't know what you're hiding from me, and I don't know why. The only thing I know is that whatever you are keeping from me, no one can know."

Despite himself, he reached for the handle on the door. Just as he turned it, everything vanished. He fell forward, cursing under his breath.

"Hola monkey butt" called a familiar voice, and David groaned. "Really Haley? Haven't you come up with enough names to call me?"

"No pudding pop." she said laughing. Hailey smiled at David and punched him in the arm. He cringed and rubbed the sore spot on his arm.

David gave a small smile at his friend's antics, "Hey I need that arm. Can't be a superhero without it ya know"

"Use your legs...like that knight from Monty Python. It's only a flesh wound!" Hailey shouted and laughed but rubbed David's arm, where the growing bruise was. "How's your homework?" she asked. David sighed, "Going fine, nearly finished now. Then I get to spend some time with Whitney." Hailey smirked. "What?" David asked.

"Ahhh The princess and the Nerd with armor." Hailey sighed and grinned.

"Not armor, remember?" he replied and she nodded.

She thought for a moment "Can you take a look at my Bo staff? The very high tech one...with the Motorcycle in it?" she asked and David looked up shocked. "THE WHAT?!" he asked slightly excited.

"Oh yeah, didn't I tell you about that?" she asked, leaning back in her chair. David shook his head. "Well I have-had a friend who made it for me but he sadly died. Ran into Doom. Well He made me a Bo staff that has a Motorcycle inside and has these sort Taser like things at each when I fight with it..." she said and David looked at her with his mouth hanging open. "LEMME SEE!"

Hailey smiled as her friend/brother jumped up and down with excitement. "Ok Ok calm down"

Hailey went over to her bag and grabbed the black object. "Okay back up." she said and David took a couple steps backwards eyes wide. Hailey twirled the small object and hit a button to make it expand in each direction. She jumped up in the air twisting the Bo staff. Suddenly a sleek black motorcycle was there with Hailey sitting on it happily.

David's eyes were wide open, his mouth agape in astonishment. Hailey laughed, "pretty cool huh?"

David nodded his head slowly. "The engine is make a weird coughing noise..." Hailey said frowning. David walked closer to the bike when Hailey got off it, "Hmmm I can fix it." he said and checked his watch. "When was the last time you slept?" he asked and Hailey shrugged.

"Hailey," he said looking at her closely, "You need rest. You can't keep pushing yourself like this. Trust me," he said tapping his own heart monitor, "I know that better than most"

"I'll fix it, but only if YOU get some sleep, OK?" he asked seriously. Hailey frowned and sighed. "Fine." she muttered, Hailey yawned and ruffled David's hair as she past. Then she literally collapsed onto the couch and began to snooze.

David smiled, before a wave of dizziness started to overtake him. He sighed, stumbling over and plugging his heart monitor to charge.

"Never easy dealing with you is it?" he asked the device, frowning at the memory of his near fatal encounter with Titanium Man.

"Well, better get to work." he said, gathering his tools and getting to work, his mind lingering back to that mysterious door.

As David worked Hailey twitched in her sleep. "No..." she mumbled and scrunched her nose. David glanced at her, not noticing anything he went back to work. "EEP!" came a yelp and crash, David jumped twisted around. "You okay?" he asked slightly concerned. Hailey nodded and grumbled "Not tired any more..." she muttered but the dark circles under her eyes said otherwise. "Your heart okay?" she asked noticing the charger.

He smiled, "C'mon. I'll be fine. You know me, I'm a strong guy-"

He stopped, a wrench tumbling from his nerveless fingers as he struggled to stay standing. His breathing became more labored, but he tried to hide it with a smile. "Whoops, cut it a bit to close again."

Hailey sighed and sat down next to her friend. "You need to be careful." she muttered and smiled after a second. "Otherwise I won't have anyone to pick on." she said. David gave her a look and continued to work, Hailey yawned and rested her head on the back tire of her bike.

"You had another nightmare again, didn't you?" he asked quietly, leaning against the wall while his heart was recharging. "About...you know." he trailed off.

Hailey sighed and looked down at David's tools "Maybe...ya." she muttered. David looked at her sadly "You can't stay awake forever you know." he said and Hailey looked at him and gave him a weak smile "I guess I'm going to have to try. They won't stop...they're soooo real. It's like I'm back on the table and the scientists..." she said and trailed off.

Her friend frowned, wrapping his arms around her. "That's all over now. You have friends here." he said, smiling at her.

"Thanks." she said as she hugged him back and started playing with a small screwdriver. "I have a killer headache. You got anything?" she asked and David sighed "No...sorry." he said. Hailey grumbled and collapsed into the pile of tools.

"HAILEY?!" he yelled, rushing to her side, "Hailey are you okay?"

He got no response and grunted in pain when his charger pulled. "Hailey!" he shouted and got nothing. He searched for his phone and dialed Tony's phone number.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Tony! It's David, something's wrong with Hailey. You need to get here now!"

"What's wrong?!" Tony asked falling out of his bed. "I-I she was really tired and she had a nightmare and then she collapsed!" David said freaking out. Tony pulled on a shirt and quickly made his way to the armory "get her someplace comfy. Maybe she's sleeping...but I'll be over in five." he said and hung up.

David ripped off his charger so he could pick up Hailey and set her down on a couch nearby. He stumbled back to his charger and plugged himself in as he waited for Tony. Tony arrived at the apartment six minutes later. He burst into the room and moved over to the couch. "Computer, scan Hailey." he ordered. The armor scanned her and beeped "Designation: Hailey is in a coma like state. One created by an outside source." it responded.

"What?" David asked, almost fully recharged. "An outside source? What is doing this to her?"

"Tony," David asked in a worried tone," Is she gonna be ok? What can I do?"

"I don't know." Tony said quietly. David sighed and ran a hand through his hair "we need to find out what is doing this." he said and Tony nodded.

Meanwhile in Hailey's head...

"No. I can't be back here!" she shouted as she struggled against the restraints. A large needle moved towards her and Hailey screamed. "Welcome back Guardian," Hissed a voice, causing Hailey's terror to increase.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: We do not own IMAA or any other franchises mentioned**

"Do you have any ideas on how to get her back to normal?" David asked and Tony sighed "Maybe but it's a long shot." he said shrugging.

"What?" He asked hopefully, desperate for a way to help his closest friend," What is it? I'll do anything!"

Tony sighed "Well there's a chance someone can go inside her head and help her out. It's something I've been thinking about to help coma patients recover faster." he said and added quickly "But it's a gamble. She get's hurt in there the same goes for out here. And if you were to in there the same could happen to you."

"What do I have to do?" David asked at once.

Tony hesitated before he looked over at David, " Are you sure you want to do this?"

Dave nodded, staring at the comatose form of his friend, "She saved my life when we met. It's the least I can do."

"We have to bring her to the armory then." Tony said picking her up.

David grumbled thinking 'I don't want to take a cab' and looked at Hailey's bike. He smiled, "ok one ride" he laughed, jumping on and tearing after Tony. He ran into the armory, parking the bike inside the old factory. "Ok now what?" He asked Tony, dropping his bag down on the floor, a few DVD cases tipping onto the floor, the logo of Doctor Who visible.

Tony smiled at David, "So you're a Whovian now? Seems ridiculous to me, an alien traveling through space and time, fighting monsters, and saving the universe."

David smirked, "Is it really? Considering what all of us have been through in the last three years."

Hailey was already on one of the beds in the infirmary. "We have to put you to sleep." Tony said and Pepper walked over to them holding a rather large needle. "Fun." David mutterer sarcastically. Tony rolled his eyes "It won't hurt...I think." he said and David's eyes widened, while distracted Pepper shoved the needle into his arm.

David's head swam in and out of consciousness before starting to fall, only to be caught by Pepper and Tony. "Ok he's asleep, now what?" Pepper asked. "Bring him to the second bed." Tony grunted as they dragged him to the other side of the room. They gently laid him down, his face serene and calm.

David groaned and slowly opened his eyes to see all white...

"Huh?" He asked sitting up and rubbing his eyes, feeling weak, "Where am I?"

His voice echoed and slowly got to his feet. "David can you hear me?" a voice asked and David frowned "Pepper?" he asked and there was a sigh of relief. "It worked then." she said as David stared down a long, long hallway full of doors. "Great." David muttered.

"Ok one of those doors should have Hailey's subconscious in there" Pepper said as he got up, heading towards a door. They all looked exactly the same, a simple wooden door, dark brown in color. He finally settled on a door and pushed it open.

Inside was a colossal atrium, mostly covered in the shadows. David frowned, walking towards the center of the room, observing the strange designs on the walls. The half-spheres affixed to the walls was an odd choice, but hey, this WAS Hailey's mind after all.

"Hello?" he called, his voice reverberating off of the metal confines of the room, "Hailey? Anyone here?"

Suddenly, blue dots flared into sight, and a mechanical beeping could be heard. David's heart stopped, an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. Slowly he turned, and his eyes widened in fear.

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" cried the Daleks advancing forward, laser blasts shooting from the barrels of their deadly weapons. David threw himself into a roll, sprinting toward the door, with the battle cries of the Daleks ringing in his ears. He slammed the door behind him, locking it behind him.

"Why does she keep Daleks there?!" He yelled opening another door. Pepper laughed while David's eyes widened when he saw Hogwarts "I knew she was a Harry Potter fan but wow..." he muttered and closed the door.

"Skip a few..." Tony said now. David sighed and ran down the hallway, "So many doors" he huffed, skipping the next few doors when her heard Pepper's voice squealing in his head.

"OOOH STOP LOOK IN THAT ONE!" Pepper shouted and David looked. He shook his head quickly "Hell no." he said.

The door was labeled CRUSHES, "I'm not going anywhere near that one." he said and Pepper complained loudly.

"Hey she would kill me if I go in there!" he said, gulping as he took a few steps back from the door.

"But I WANT TO KNOW!" Pepper said whining. David rolled his eyes and spotted a unique looking door.

"What's this?" He asked opening it, with a curious expression. He wandered in, not noticing the black writing that materialized on the door. It was two words: WORST FEAR

David walked in to the seemingly empty apartment that Hailey and he shared all those years ago. When he walked he felt smaller. He looked at the mirror and saw himself, although much younger, around seven years old or so.

"Wow," he whispered, awed at his appearance.

He walked over to the old TV and played with it for a second before a loud 'CRASH' filled the room. David whipped around to see armed men dressed in black body armor with guns storming toward him.

"There he is sir. That's the boy." One of the soldiers reported, keeping his gun trained on David. One of the men came forward and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him crashing against the wall. David coughed and it felt as if his chest were on fire. "Grab him." one of the men said and everything went black.

"What happened? David?" Pepper called but didn't a response.

David groaned and slowly opened his eyes to find that he was on a cold metal table strapped down, he pulled against the restraints but they wouldn't budge. "This will only hurt a little." a voice hissed. And the last thing he remembered before passing was his screams of unbearable agony.

"WHATS HAPPENING TO HIM?!" Pepper yelled, unable to contact him.

David sat straight up breathing hard. He looked around himself and saw that he was in a small room like the size of a closet. It wasn't anything special, it was just white except for the hundreds of black tally marks that littered the walls. His younger self reached up, his fingers ghosting over the marks he carved, one for each day. Even though in reality only a few hours had passed, in HERE, weeks and even months passed by. Day after day they tortured him, subjecting him to electric shocks, beatings, and more injections. He curled up in a corner of the room, the pain of the experiments resurfacing once more. He started shaking uncontrollably when the door opened. It looked to be an older version of Justin Hammer.

He looked at the boy with a sinister gleam in his eyes. For the first time in a long time, David was afraid, no terrified.

"Ready for round two?" Hammer asked smiling but David didn't have time to answer. He was dragged to his feet by men with guns.

They threw him to the floor and locked the door. David got up with a groan and looked around. He saw four men standing there staring at him like he were prey. David backed away from them nervously "crap." he muttered as the men moved forward.

One of them grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. David clutched at the hand wrapped around his neck, gasping for breath. The man then slammed him against the wall. David's head hit the concrete and spots dance before his eyes. He staggered, trying to keep his balance when a fist slammed into his stomach. His eyes widened as the wind was knocked out of him. He doubled over, coughing as he fought to regain his breath. He took a wild swing, missing the man completely, who laughed at his pitiful attempts to fight back. The man smirked before he took David by the hair and pulled. David gasped and tried his best to get away. The man chuckled and grabbed David by the throat. His eyes fluttered, his strength fading as his arms dropped limply to his sides.

"Just where do you think you're going?" He snickered, holding him up once more. The man held him up and slammed him against the wall once more. David couldn't help but pass out this time. The man let the boys limp body collapse to the floor, blood tricking from the injury on his head.

"Bring him back to his cell." Hammer said over an intercom. Guards entered the room and grabbed the boy by the arms, dragging him from the room.

Pepper was horrified at what she saw. "Oh my god. What are they doing to him?!"

Tony thought for a moment before saying "He's in Hailey's head. Her memories...he must be experiencing what Hailey went through when she was kidnapped as a kid."

"Either that or this is her worst fear. That this happened to him instead of her" he continued quietly. Pepper look horrified. She wasn't the most trustful of Whitney Stane's boyfriend, but no one deserved this.

"Either way, they're going need a lot of therapy..." Pepper muttered. Suddenly loud beeping filled the room. Tony rushed over to Hailey's bedside and checked the monitors "she's in pain but...how?" he muttered unsure of what to do.

"We need to trust David...can we give him anything?" She asked, looking at a DVD of Doctor Who poking out of David's bag, showing the titular character holding a sonic screwdriver.

"Yeah why?" Tony asked.

Pepper's face split into a big grin and held up the DVD, "We're gonna give him a little help."

**A/N: Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Neither Haytar96 or I, Batfan94, in any way own the rights to Iron Man Armored Adventures, Doctor Who or any creatures or technology from said franchises. This is made purely for fun.**

David groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "ouch." he rasped and sat up. He was in the white cell again David looked around and spotted an object sitting on the floor by the sink.

_Odd, _he thought, _I've_ _never seen this before. What is it?_

David got onto his knees and picked it up. To his surprise it was a sonic screwdriver with a note attached.

"Get out of there. -P&T" it read.

He smiled looking up, "Thanks guys," he whispered weakly, pointing the device at the door. The locking mechanism clicked and the door swung open. He struggled to his feet, holding the wall to keep himself up. Each step caused his injuries to burn in agony. The hall seemed empty but David knew better. He looked up toward the ceiling and saw a video camera. He pointed the sonic at it and hit the button. The device whirled and the camera sparked and turned off. "Ha!" He chuckled, "love this thing!"

He limped on toward the door when he heard the footfalls of the soldiers down the hall behind him.

"Crap." he muttered and limped faster toward a door. He raised the sonic hit the button and the door clicked open. David dived through the door and slammed it shut with his foot. Gasping for breath he looked around. "Where am I now?" he asked himself quietly. He was sitting on a broken sidewalk in a smoking city. He looked around with a curious expression. The sounds of shooting and shouting echoed through the burning city. David got to his feet and followed the sounds. David was weary as he approached the source of the sound; a part of his mind afraid of some new horror Hailey's mind had come up with. He peaked around the corner to a girl fighting five different armed men.

"Who in the world...?" he wondered, watching her when one of the men pulled a gun. His eyes widened, drawing his Sonic Screwdriver in a flash.

"Oh no you don't" David said aiming his sonic at the gun, jamming it. The man looked at his gun confused and before anyone could blink he was down with the girl standing over him. Two of the other armed men moved forward. The girl grabbed two medium length pipes off the ground and beat the crap out of the two goons. Dave smiled drawing back into the shadows, trying to keep out of sight. The girl huffed and twirled the two pipes between her fingers. An inhuman growling scream filled the air and David's eyes widened. _'Crap! I forgot Hailey liked zombie movies!'_ he thought and then noticed that he was alone, or so he thought.

"Oh now what?!" he said in exasperation, when he noticed a shambling corpse round the corner. An inhuman growl launched from its throat as it raised its arms and went forward toward him.

"Oh no" he groaned, backing away from it. The zombie got close but suddenly there was a pipe sticking out of its head making it collapse. Standing there was Hailey. She looked at David and sighed.

"Damn I thought I was able to keep you out of here. Maybe if I think real hard you'll disappear and not die..." she said and shut her eyes tight.

"Hailey?" David asked, limping closer. Her eyes widened when she realized it was really him and not a part of her memory. He stumbled a bit gasping in pain.

"Oh...son of a..." she muttered and rushed forward and hugged David before punching him in the arm shouting, "what in the hell are you doing here you freaking moron!"

David yelled in pain when she noticed his injuries and she gasped in horror, realizing just where he had escaped from.

"Oh...damn it. Sorry." she said took most of his weight. He looked younger than he should, around her age when she was taken and experimented on. He was light, much too light. "Where are we going?" he asked wincing. Hailey sighed and clicked the safety off on her gun.

"Home." she whispered. He looked at her and she saw the horror and fear deep within his eyes. "Hailey...the things I saw, the things they did to me..." he started shaking in her grasp. She held him closer, as if hoping she could purge the horrible events from his memory by just holding him.

"It's okay. I'll get you out of here." Hailey whispered as they climbed the stairs of the apartment building. They neared the door and Hailey opened it, ushered David inside and slammed the door shut locking it pushing the couch in front of the door.

"They tortured me, beat me... they nearly broke me!" He shivered. Hailey had never seen her friend look so defeated and so terrified in all her life. All the confidence, courage, and bravado she admired about him was just…gone.

"I'm so sorry David. I'm sorry you had to go through my old memories. I promise to get you out if here." Hailey whispered and brought him to the back room to rest. As soon as David's head hit the pillow he was out like a light. Hailey covered him with a blanket and went back out into the living area. She cocked the gun and sat by the window to keep watch. She could see him resting through the open door and her heart fell. Her best friend just went through the worst hell imaginable, and in this younger body he looked so…..vulnerable and delicate, like a single touch would cause him to crumble to dust.

David yelled in his sleep, the nightmares haunting him. He thrashed in the bed, crying out in a mixture of pain and terror. Hailey ran to him.

"David! It's me! You're okay! You're safe." she said gently understanding exactly what he was going through. David's eyes snapped open to see Hailey above him.

"They will come for us. Not just you, both of us. He wants my head. Everything in there, he wants." he whispered.

"Didn't I say I'm going to get you out of my head?" Hailey said smirking trying to keep her friend calm. "You should rest up. This city is full of bad things...I'm going to send you back to Tony. And when you see him, slap him for me." she said rambling, trying to take her friend's mind off of the dreadful thoughts.

"No," he answered, "I'm not leaving without you."

"Except that I can't leave. Trust me I tried. Something is holding me here and I don't want you to experience anything else because you only got a small taste of it." she said quietly.

"No!" David yelled, sitting up and gasping in pain, "I'm not leaving unless you come too. If you send me back alone, then all this," he said looking at the injuries covered over his young body, "will have been for nothing."

Hailey sighed and smiled gently "Go back to sleep. We'll talk more about it later." she whispered, getting up to stand watch when David grabbed her wrist.

"Promise me, you won't send me away please." he begged.

"I'll be right here when you wake up." Hailey whispered and sat at the end of the bed. David gave her a weak smile and slowly drifted off again. Hailey sighed and shook her head debating with herself.

IMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAA

The next morning he stirred in his sleep, waking up with a yawn. He looked over to see Hailey curled up in a ball at his feet clutching her gun like it was a lifeline. He gently shook her "hey" he whispered.

"What time is it?" she asked whiteout opening her eyes. "I have no idea." David said yawning again. Hailey sat up and looked at her watch "six-thirty...great I slept for half an hour. A new record." she muttered.

"Heh good." He chuckled, pushing himself to a sitting position with a small moan of discomfort.

"They really drained me. I can barely walk, let alone fight." He said, worry filling him.

"Ya...they did that a lot when I was trapped there." Hailey sighed and stretched like a cat. She hopped off the bed and swayed dangerously.

"Hailey..." he said reaching for her. Hailey looked at David and smiles.

"I'm fine." she said and quickly went over to the window." The streets are clear for now but they won't be soon. We need to get moving." she muttered and moved out into the living room. David got up slowly, moving after her. His hand grasped his sonic in his pocket.

"There's a doorway a few blocks from here that I can't get into." Hailey said as she collected different weapons from the room. "Maybe it's just locked." David said shrugging. Hailey gave him a look.

"And like any door, all you need is the right key." He smirked, holding up his sonic, "A gift from pepper and tony. It's how I escaped that...that place."

Hailey smiled and chuckled "Well that'll come in handy" she said putting a knife in her boot.

"Yeah" he laughed, following her. Hailey went over to the door and waved her hand. The couch moved by itself to the other side of the room. She opened the door and peered out into the hallway. As soon as the coast was clear she set off down the hallway. Dave tried to keep up, despite the pain it inflicted. He tried to hide it behind a brave face, but Hailey knew better.

"Don't worry you-we'll get out soon." she said covering quickly. She took most of his weight again as they moved downstairs.

"Sorry," he frowned, "some superhero I turned out to be." He said bitterly. Hailey stared at him

"You experienced something you were never meant experience." she said softly and took a breath. "You went through what I went through and that wasn't supposed to happen." she whispered. "You're a hero David and if you keep talking like that I'm going to take away your Xbox." she growled.

He smiled, "You still haven't given up on me have you?"

"Nope." Hailey said popping the p. She smiled at him "I also want to say thanks. You know for coming into my head to come and get me...even though it was a really stupid thing to do." she said honestly.

"Would you expect anything less of me" he smirked, a bit of his old self shining through.

"I suppose not." Hailey said smiling. They reached the street and hurried to the corner. Hailey stopped at the corner, peeking around to see the door.

"We need to get to my head," he whispered, "I've got an idea but I need your help"

Hailey looked at him, "What's the plan?" She asked when she noticed David concentrating hard. His hand began to glow a golden color before fading. She could practically see the gears turning in his head when his face split into a wide grin.

"Whatever you're doing...do it quickly. We've got company..." Hailey said aiming her gun at the four armed men coming towards them when she froze.

"Wait-, she looked at Dave," you're not seriously going to-"

"Oh yeah," David breathed, "it's a" long shot, but it might work. Anything could work in here right? So if my screwdriver actually works like one, then perhaps I could regenerate into my original body, healing myself at the same time. But I need to be in my own head for the process to work. If I regenerate here, the energy will fry your brain."

That stopped the happy attitude she had going, "Please don't fry my brain...I need it." Hailey sighed and smirked. "I'm soooo going to have fun going through your thoughts hehe. Bet you money that your head is more cheerful than mine." she laughed.

Dave rolled his eyes. "What?" Hailey asked acting innocent.

"I know you. You will mess around. There is something my mind wants to be kept secret, not only from me, but from other prying eyes" he said looking up imagining Pepper and Tony.

"Uh huh. But you know for a fact I'm going to get into trouble..." Hailey laughed poking him. "I'm serious," he mumbled, "there's something I can't have them knowing. I don't know why, or what, but it's important that only you and I know"

He pointed the sonic at the sky and Tony's monitor went off.

"What happened?" Pepper asked coming to his side.

"He broke the connection. I can try to reestablish the signal but I'm not sure if we can even contact them again."

IMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAAIMAA

David sighed to himself, promising to apologize to them later on when they got out. He pointed his device at the door and Hailey and Dave raced through.

"Fine." Hailey grumbled.

"Maybe I will show you, but you must swear never to tell a living soul. This is serious. I can't promise it will even open." He begged sincerely.

"Yeah okay." Hailey said shrugging but showed her seriousness in her eyes. Dave opened the door to his mind, when a noise caused him to look back. Hammer appeared his Titanium Man armor active.

"Going somewhere?" He hissed.

"RUN!" Dave shouted and shoved Hailey into the doorway, dragging her down the hallway.

"It all makes sense now," David said to himself, "He was the one who put you in a coma. He sent a signal to your brain and…."

"What? What is it?!" Hailey asked.

"Now your mind is blinking like a destination on a GPS. Bagging me is an extra prize. He suspects something is hidden in my head, valuable enough that he wants me too."

He looked at the doors and entered a room, dragged Hailey to the adjacent door and pushed her inside.

"Get inside, I'll be right behind you." He said shutting the door and looking around, noticing the objects in the room when Titanium Man burst in, the door exploding in a shower of wooden splinters.

"All alone? No Hailey, no Whitney, no Iron Man? What could you possibly do to stop me?"

Dave thought for a moment, twirling the sonic in his hand, "Well it's not what I am going to do per se. But you know one little push of a button can change everything." he smirked and activated the sonic. Blue lights flickered on around them as the Cybermen raised their metal heads in unison.

"ALERT! ALERT! INTRUDER DETECTED! THE INTRUDER WILL BE DELETED" they announced marching at Hammer. Dave smiled and locked the door behind him as he left. "Have fun Hammer."

"That won't hold him for long Hailey," he said, "We need to move fast."

"Why does he want us in my head?" Hailey asked as they ran down what appeared to be the hallway of the apartment building.

"He holds us there and he has access to both our brains, all the data on SHIELD and our friends and family. Everything" he answered, "As long as were in here, we got a fighting chance. He doesn't know my brain like he does yours. And my brain is defended"

Hailey could hear the Cybermen shooting and Titanium Man smashing them to bits.

"Great. Hey can we uh like fix that when we get out of this?" Hailey asked curiously.

David looked at her in slight confusion, "Your head or the Cybermen?"

She gave him a look and he held up a hand in defense.

"Oh yeah" he answered, "but if we don't get to a safe room so I can regenerate that will be the least of our problems"

"Yup. Safe room sounds good...hey is it bad to be dizzy and lightheaded?" Hailey asked suddenly. She blinked a few times to clear her vision. She started to sway uneasily on her feet, starting to fall over.

"Hailey?!" He asked catching her, "Hailey speak to me!"

"Don't shout! My head feels like it's going to explode!" she growled clutching at it. The floor suddenly seemed a bit closer "oh. Going down.." she gasped and collapsed.

"Hailey? Hailey?" He whispered, shaking her gently, tears starting in his eyes as he heard Titanium Man lumber closer. He glared in the direction of the oncoming villain, dragging Hailey to a safe room and locked the door when Titanium Man burst in. In his metallic grip he held the severed head of a Cyberman, torn wires hanging from its neck. It was still intoning "DELETE DELETE!"

Hammer dropped the head before smashing it with his foot.

"Nowhere left to go now David" he laughed, when Dave noticed his hands begin to glow gold. He glared hard at Hammer, the two beginning to circle one another. "I will admit, you are clever, dragging me in your mind." Hammer laughed, "But as you can see your pitiful defenses are no match for me. I will have your mind and your friend's as well. And soon when I subdue you two, I can take you in the real world. Ah so many experiments, so little time."

His smile fell when he saw David yawn, looking unimpressed.

"Blah blah blah blah blah," he mocked, "Do you ever shut up?"

He looked at his hands, noticing the glow intensify, "Any minute now…."

Hammer aimed his cannon at the boy, "What are you doing?"

David laughed, the glow spreading to his face, "Too late now Hammer. You want our minds?!"

"WELL COME AND GET THEM!" he yelled releasing blasts of energy from his hands and face, blasting Titanium Man back as the light consumed the two of them. The injuries on his body faded in the light as his face rapidly aged before there was an explosion of energy, and then silence.

**A/N: Ok then. Just a few quick things about this chapter. Yes I know there are a TON of Dr. Who references in here, but hey Haytar96 and I love Doctor Who (Plus it's the mind, anything can happen there lol) This also will tie into Obsidian's origin story and Guardian's as well. I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter and I will see you all real soon with the next one!**

**(Fun Fact about me (Batfan94): I share a remarkable resemblance to David Tennant, or when my hair is grown out at least, and I love doing impressions.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own IMAA or any other franchise mentioned.**

Hammer vanished when the light faded, and the room appeared deserted.

Hailey awoke and held her head in pain, opening the door and looking for her friend. "David?!" She called out but was met with silence. A movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention toward an open door, where a shadow danced across the wall. She moved slowly toward the door, hesitant as to who, or WHAT, stood on the other side.

"David...?" she asked louder and violently winced at the pain in her head. Hailey slowly eased the door open. She gave the door a gentle push, and it swung open, revealing David, now his proper age. She chuckled a bit at his clothes though. He was dressed in a blue pinstripe suit with a maroon tie, also wearing a long brown trench coat his hair looked gelled up so it hung off over his forehead slightly. "Hailey!" he cried happily, swooping her up in a hug, laughing. She laughed as he set her back down on the floor. She ignored the pain radiating in her skull, smiling wide at her friend, who strangely enough managed to look like the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who.

"What's up doc?" she asked, trying to sound like Bugs Bunny.

He smiled, hugging her again.

"Nice coat. Gift from Janice?" she joked. Dave's face furrowed in thought as he examined his clothes.

"Well, perhaps. It's either that or a side effect from regeneration. Still, it looks good on me doesn't it?" he asked happily doing a twirl for her.

"Eh, it works." Hailey said shrugging, but unable to stop her from smiling, "Though I must say, I do love the sandshoes."

She kicked his foot gently and he sighed in exasperation, "They are NOT SANDSHOES!"

"Hahaha. I'm picking. Do you have the hipster glasses too?" Hailey asked laughing. Dave felt around in his pockets, fishing out the glasses, "Huh fancy that."

He slipped them on and looked in a mirror, "Not bad, not bad at all."

"You don't even need them!" Hailey laughed. David turned to her with a smirk, "No but, they do make me look clever."

All of a sudden, a strong wind swept past them and tore out the room. David's coat blew in the wind, as he and Hailey stared at the open door, then looked at each other.

"What was that?" she asked and David took off his glasses, "Not sure, but let's go find out!"

Without another word, he tore off after the strange wind, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Hailey sighed and hung her head "Really with the running? I have a bloody headache and you have to start running. ", she muttered. "Hurry up Hailey!" David shouted. She couldn't hold back the smile, however as she followed him. She ran into him as she turned a corner. He was standing stock still as he gazed at a door, which glowed with a golden aura.

His eyes were wide, "There you are" he breathed and Hailey looked at him. "What..." she muttered and looked at the door closely.

"That's it." David breathed, pacing in front of the door, "Are you gonna open for me this time?"

He reached for the handle but he hesitated. Hailey looked at him in worried expression.

"You can do it.." Hailey said calmly. David looked at her, "I've been into every door in my head, except this one. The one thing I don't know, my parents, where I came from."

Hailey made her way next to him, as he stared at the door apprehensively. "You can do it David. And please do it soon...my head feels like it's going to cave in on itself." Hailey said rubbing her temples. David glanced back at her "thanks for the great pep talk Hails. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." he said dryly. Hailey gave him a weak smile "Look you're the bravest person I know. And I know you can open that door and face whatever demons that are there." she said.

He took a deep breath and looked at her, "Please come with me. Your my closest friend, and i think you should see this."

His hand was on the knob. "Please open" he whispered turning the knob.

Hailey moved forward and stood next to him as he opened the door. There was a flash of light, and they stood together as it faded. They looked around and were surprised to find themselves inside the Stark Industries laboratories.

"We're in Stark Industries….." he said, looking around with a puzzled expression.

A small little boy ran past them followed by a couple, who happily called out to him.

"C'mere Dave. You want to watch mom and dad be scientists?" the man asked, and David gasped, tears threatening to appear. The man was tall and lean, with dark brown hair and glasses. The woman beside him smiled at their approaching son, a caring expression full of…love. Her long brown hair fell down her back like a gentle flow of water, with blue eyes and the warmest smile that he ever saw in his life.

Hailey put a hand on his shoulder hoping that it would be comforting. "You going to be okay?" she asked whispering.

"M-mom?" he whispered, hardly daring to believe it, "Dad?"

The little David ran into the arms of his parents, who were talking to a younger Howard Stark.

"-the final results will be amazing Mr. Stark! We had our first successful energy pulse and it completely cured a critically injured wound! Even the particles have become stable! We just have a few final adjustments to secure the core and it will be ready for mass production! Just imagine all the people we can help with this!"

Howard smiled when he caught sight of David being swooped up into his parent's arms, "I'm glad to hear it! I had full faith in the both of you that you would see this through! That's why I personally chose you to head the development on this. Congratulations!"

"We will be right back" Dave's father said, and him, his wife and son went off toward the labs. Hailey looked at David who stood mesmerized on the spot. She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"David?" she asked quietly. Hailey nudged him gently...

He made his way forward, following his parents. He watched with his younger self through the glass as his parents made some adjustments to the core. That's when he saw it.

The monitor began to flash red as a warning, his parents looking at each other in alarm as pure energy began to leak from the core. David pressed his hands against the glass, his heart breaking at the sight. His younger self, scared at the way his parents were acting, ran to them, opening the door and running to his mother.

"Mommy!" he cried, his feet moving as fast as they could. His mother looked at him in horror as the alarms blared.

"NO! GET OUT!" The real David yelled hammering the glass, but he realized that they couldn't hear or see him. Time seemed to slow down as the core ruptured, the explosion consuming his parents. A wave of pure energy struck the younger David in the chest, flinging him across the room. He slammed into the wall and fell unconscious. David screamed, his heart breaking at the sight, when he noticed his younger self glowing, his wounds seemingly vanish into nothing.

"What?" he asked, as men poured in attending to the young boy while others tried to extinguish fires. And there David stood with Hailey, in the midst of the chaos, feeling so helpless and alone. He fell to his knees, his head bowed as the tears came.

Hailey stood behind him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Dave..." she said quietly.

He looked up at her and despite his tear streaked face he gave a small smile,

"At least I know they were good people. They only thought about helping others." he whispered as Hailey gently pulled him to his feet. "But now I know why hammer wants me. That energy...it wasn't radioactive, but that should have killed me. Which means that it's inside me!"

He suddenly became very serious, pacing in front of her, "He wants to extract the energy from me. Even a little bit has enough power to fuel his war machines for the next hundred years."

Hailey frowned "I don't understand...if he's got you then why does he want me...? His father scrapped the project years ago. Hammer didn't even know about me until I escaped with Tony..." she said rubbing her temples trying to soothe her headache.

"He can harvest the energy but if he wants to replicate it, he needs you. That's why. Let me put it this way: You are a sort of toy soldier, and I'm the battery."

Horror dawned on his face. "We got to leave NOW!"

They both ran out the door, as David called Tony, "Is the signal to Hailey's head still active?"

Tony looked at the monitors, "No it's stopped. What's wrong?"

"Listen to me. Get Pepper out now, because if you don't, in a few minutes you will be dead." David yelled, pulling Hailey by the hand.

"Okay toy soldier...not cool but what's going to happen to them?!" Hailey asked confused. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth "and god damn why does my head hurt so much?!" she screamed.

He stopped and looked at her, "Hammer is coming. He knew all along about you, he just needed the missing piece of the puzzle… and he found it."

"Hailey what's wrong?" he asked feeling her forehead with his palm. She was burning up "I don't know...it feels like my head is going to implode..." she gasped.

"We need to get out of here" he said, worried. "You need to wake up"

"Well what do you think I've been trying to do this whole time?" she asked and a crazy idea came to her. She forced a small smile and said "I've got an idea..."

"What?" he asked, looking at her hopefully.

"Well you know how in dreams or when you're asleep you feel like you're falling and you wake up with that mini heart attack?" she asked.

"Yeah..." and suddenly his smile returned

"Ooooohhhhhh you are brilliant!" he said happily, "but uhhhhhhh where are we gonna find a cliff or something?"

Hailey smirked "It's your head. You can do whatever you want. Or we can just use this very convenient stark building..." she said and quickly wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Fantastic!" he said grabbing her hand and running towards a window. They reached the window and slammed into it only to bounce backwards. "Ow!" they both said. "I got this..." Hailey muttered and pulled out her pistol.

"Um I don't think that's going to-" he began. Hailey fired. The bullets hit the glass and stuck there making the glass cobweb. "Now we can jump. "she sighed.

"Oh ok that wooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkkkssssssssssss!" David yelled as she dragged him with her through the window. It felt like their stomachs were going up into their throats. And suddenly a white light filled their vision.

**REVIEWS PLEASE!**


End file.
